Zephaniah 1
1 [I am] Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, and the great-grandson of Amariah, whose father was [King] Hezekiah. Yahweh gave this message to me during the time when [King] Amon’s son Josiah was the King of Judah.
| דבר יהוה אשר היה אל צפניה בן כושי בן גדליה בן אמריה בן חזקיה בימי יאשיהו בן אמון מלך יהודה׃ |
2 Yahweh says, “I will (sweep away/destroy) everything [HYP] that is on the earth.
| אסף אסף כל מעל פני האדמה נאם יהוה׃ |
3 I will sweep away people and animals. I will sweep away birds and fish. I will get rid of wicked people; there will be no more [wicked] [HYP] people on the earth.”
| אסף אדם ובהמה אסף עוף השמים ודגי הים והמכשלות את הרשעים והכרתי את האדם מעל פני האדמה נאם יהוה׃ |
4 “[These are some of the things that I will do]: I will punish the people who live in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah. I will destroy everything that has been used in the worship of Baal. I will cause [people] to no longer remember the names of the pagan priests or the [other] priests [who have turned away from me].
| ונטיתי ידי על יהודה ועל כל יושבי ירושלם והכרתי מן המקום הזה את שאר הבעל את שם הכמרים עם הכהנים׃ |
5 [I will get rid of] those who go up on the roofs [of their houses] and worship the sun and moon and stars, those who claim that they worship me but [also] worship [their god] Molech.
| ואת המשתחוים על הגגות לצבא השמים ואת המשתחוים הנשבעים ליהוה והנשבעים במלכם׃ |
6 I will get rid of all those who previously worshiped me but no longer do, those who no [longer] seek my [help or ask me to tell them what they should do.”]
| ואת הנסוגים מאחרי יהוה ואשר לא בקשו את יהוה ולא דרשהו׃ |
7 Be silent in front of Yahweh the Lord, because it will soon be the time/day when Yahweh [will judge and punish people]. Yahweh has prepared to get rid of [the people of Judah]; they will be like [MET] animals that are slaughtered for sacrifices, and he has chosen [their enemies] to be the ones who will get rid of them.
| הס מפני אדני יהוה כי קרוב יום יהוה כי הכין יהוה זבח הקדיש קראיו׃ |
8 Yahweh says, “On that day when I will get rid of [the people of Judah], [I will punish] their officials and the king’s sons, and [I will punish] all those who worship foreign gods [MTY].
| והיה ביום זבח יהוה ופקדתי על השרים ועל בני המלך ועל כל הלבשים מלבוש נכרי׃ |
9 I will punish those who [show that they revere their god Dagan] by avoiding stepping on the threshold [of his temple], and those who do violent things and tell lies in the temples of their gods.”
| ופקדתי על כל הדולג על המפתן ביום ההוא הממלאים בית אדניהם חמס ומרמה׃ |
10 Yahweh [also] says, “On that day, people will cry [out] at the Fish Gate [of Jerusalem]. People will wail in the newer part of the city, and [people will hear] a loud crash [of buildings collapsing] in the hills.
| והיה ביום ההוא נאם יהוה קול צעקה משער הדגים ויללה מן המשנה ושבר גדול מהגבעות׃ |
11 [So, all you] people who live in the market area [of Jerusalem] should wail, because all those who sell goods and weigh out silver will be slaughtered.
| הילילו ישבי המכתש כי נדמה כל עם כנען נכרתו כל נטילי כסף׃ |
12 [It will be as though] I will light lanterns to search in [dark places in] Jerusalem for those who have become very satisfied with their behavior and complacent [about their sins]. They think that [I], Yahweh, will do nothing to them, neither good things nor bad things.
| והיה בעת ההיא אחפש את ירושלם בנרות ופקדתי על האנשים הקפאים על שמריהם האמרים בלבבם לא ייטיב יהוה ולא ירע׃ |
13 [But I say that] their valuable possessions will be plundered/stolen [by their enemies], and their houses will be destroyed. They will build [new] homes, but they will not live in them; they will plant vineyards, but they will never drink [any] wine [made from grapes that grow there].”
| והיה חילם למשסה ובתיהם לשממה ובנו בתים ולא ישבו ונטעו כרמים ולא ישתו את יינם׃ |
14 It will soon be the day/time when Yahweh [will punish people]. It will be here quickly. It will be a time [when people cry] bitterly, a time when [even] brave soldiers will cry loudly.
| קרוב יום יהוה הגדול קרוב ומהר מאד קול יום יהוה מר צרח שם גבור׃ |
15 It will be a time when [God shows that he is] very angry, a time when [people experience much] distress/suffering and trouble. [It will be] a time [when many things are] ruined and destroyed [DOU]. It will be a time when it is very gloomy and dark [DOU], when the clouds are very black.
| יום עברה היום ההוא יום צרה ומצוקה יום שאה ומשואה יום חשך ואפלה יום ענן וערפל׃ |
16 It will be a time when [soldiers] will blow trumpets [to call other soldiers] to battle. [Your enemies] will tear down the walls around your cities and the high towers [at the corners of those walls].
| יום שופר ותרועה על הערים הבצרות ועל הפנות הגבהות׃ |
17 Because you sinned against Yahweh, he will cause you to experience great distress; you will walk [around groping] like [SIM] blind people do. Your blood will flow [from your bodies] like [SIM] water, and your corpses will lie on the ground and rot [SIM].
| והצרתי לאדם והלכו כעורים כי ליהוה חטאו ושפך דמם כעפר ולחמם כגללים׃ |
18 At the time that [Yahweh shows that he] is very angry [with you], you will not be able to save yourselves by [giving] silver or gold [to your enemies]. Because Yahweh (is very jealous/does not want people to worship any other god), he will send a fire to burn up the entire world, and he will suddenly get rid of all the [wicked] people who live on the earth.
| גם כספם גם זהבם לא יוכל להצילם ביום עברת יהוה ובאש קנאתו תאכל כל הארץ כי כלה אך נבהלה יעשה את כל ישבי הארץ׃ |
